Reverend Raphael Warnock preaches to the faithful. On this recent weeknight, the setting is not his usual pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist, the downtown Atlanta church once led by Martin Luther King, Jr., but Cascade Skating, an ice rink on the city’s southwest side with blue collar. And his purpose is not to save souls, but to save his US Senate seat and Democratic control of the upper chamber. His style, however, is the same, weaving in an anecdote about writing a letter to his six-year-old daughter with a moral argument for social justice. “To respond to the climate crisis, to address health care, to fight for a living wage, to fight for equal pay for equal work for women, to defend a woman’s right to choose, to do all these things, the end , is our letter to our children,” he thunders. All of this is at the center of Tuesday’s by-elections, where polls show Mr Warnock in contention with Republican Herchel Walker. Their Georgia race could be the tipping point for the Senate, which is currently split between 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote. Regarding the mountains, Mr. Warnock does not say Mr. Walker’s name, but he creates an implicit contrast. The senator cites a long history of activism for health care expansion and voting rights to emphasize the former football star’s status as a political newcomer. While Mr Warnock delivers sermon-like speeches without notes, Mr Walker has attracted attention for his outlandish remarks. How Florida Became Ground Zero for America’s Culture Wars After the US midterm elections, how can Joe Biden resist the Republican pressure? At one point, Mr Walker said the US should not cut carbon dioxide emissions because the country’s “good air” would “float to China”. In another, he told a parable about a bull impregnating many cows. He has even questioned the science of evolution. “If that’s true, why are there still monkeys?” he said. “Think about it.” Two women, meanwhile, have come forward to say Mr Walker paid for their abortions after they became pregnant by him, despite the fact that he is now backing a nationwide ban. Media reports revealed that Mr Walker once threatened to shoot his then-wife and the police and has three previously undisclosed children. He has denied the abortion stories, identified the children and said his domestic violence was caused by dissociative identity disorder. The poll shows Mr. Walker doing worse than Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who is running for re-election in a 2018 runoff with Stacey Abrams. It suggests the Senate could turn to a swathe of Republicans and independents who are cool with Mr. Walker. Mr. Walker with Sen. Lindsey Graham after speaking at a campaign event in Cumming, Ga., on Oct. 27. John Bazemore/The Associated Press “I don’t feel Herschel Walker was the best candidate we could have had. Character means a lot to me,” he said Chris Coren, a 58-year-old heating and air contractor, after voting early at a recreation center in the Atlanta bedroom community of Stone Mountain. But he ultimately decided it was more important to take control of the Senate for the Republicans and cast his ballot for the former football player. “The Democrats have destroyed the economy,” he said. Mr Coren also showed Mr Warnock’s personal life. His ex-wife has accused him of running over her leg with his car during an argument, which he denies, and of disproportionately burdening her with childcare. Sharon Samuels said she is against abortion but did not dispute Mr Walker’s past behaviour. “He could have been misinformed about when life begins. It’s possible he changed his mind,” said Ms Samuels, 63, who works at a nursing home. Jordan Shenfield said he voted both Democrats and Republicans in this election. But when it came time for the Senate, he was determined to see Mr. Walker defeated. “He has absolutely no qualifications, no experience and is a threat to our democracy,” he said. Mr Shenefield, 71, was particularly bothered by Mr Walker’s close relationship with former US President Donald Trump, who continues to deny the results of the 2020 election. The specter of voter suppression looms over the race. Last year, Georgia’s Republican state government passed a law making it harder to vote. Among other things, it limits voting by mail and gives citizen groups the right to challenge the eligibility of sections of voters. Mr. Kemp argues that such rules are necessary to prevent voter fraud. Critics say the law is intended to disproportionately discourage non-white and young Democratic-leaning voters from going to the polls. Such fears are particularly acute in a state that was central to the 1960s struggle to enfranchise Black Americans. The hope among Mr Warnock’s supporters is that anger over the law will increase turnout. Indeed, early voting in the state has significantly exceeded the last 2018 midterm. Standing in Mr Warnock’s audience at Cascade Skating, Gail Bean embodies this dynamic. Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, the 29-year-old actress ordered a mail-in ballot at her suburban Atlanta home. By election day, he still hadn’t arrived, so he went to vote in person. But at her polling station, staff told her she couldn’t vote because she had already applied to vote by mail. “They denied me my vote,” he recounts. This time, he took no chances, going to the polls on the first day of early voting. The election personally has another resonance for Ms. Bean. When she was in her senior year of high school, she had an abortion. She struggles to understand how much more difficult her life would be if she were in that position under today’s laws. with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Georgia banned almost all abortions. “The only way to change this is to get people out to vote,” he says. “If we show up in droves and waves, you can’t crush us.”
